|
Ideally,
this network could become a public
service in providing an alternative to
private motor transport, and at the
same time an instrument in assisting
city traffic planning.
Who
is for
In
this day and age, relinquishing
automobile transport for a bicycle is
a practice everyone should adopt. BikeProject
is aimed at public offices
and private businesses in particular,
who would like to offer an alternative
means of transportation to citizens or
employees. These bikes would then be
stationed in strategic locations
around urban areas: in the city
center, in front of the railway
station, in parking lots instead of in
front of commercial centers and near
areas of public interest.
However,
BikeProject
also presents an interesting tourist
opportunity for the community. The
distribution of bicycle passes to
tourists on vacation in our cities
provides a relaxing and enjoyable
means of “seeing the sites;”
demonstrating our concern for the
local environment and our passion for
alternative transportation.
How
works
Through
the use of an electronic
pass,
each individual user can take his/her
bicycle from any bike-parking stand
present in the city and return it
wherever they find an open parking
space - even in a different rack from
the original. This system creates a
rapid and flexible network of bikes in
the city, where the cyclist utilizes a
bicycle for less time than by
automobile transport with the added
benefit of reduced pollution. He’d
be sharing in an alternative means of
transportation shown to be faster and
more efficient over short distances (bicycles
for sustainable mobility). As a result,
the parked bicycle will be
automatically available for the next
cyclist, who in turn will move it to
yet another bike-park. Thus the bikes
are used temporarily, interchanging
among the various bike-parks in the
city, assuring that there is always a
great availability of bikes in any one
stand.
The
physical mechanisms
BikeProject
is comprised of the following elements:
-
the bicycle and the bike-rack parking
- the monitoring and inventory system
- a system of tele-diagnosis.
The
bicycle and the bicycle rack parking
system
The
bicycle is obviously the fundamental
element of this uniquely open-hiring
system. Each bicycle is anchored
solidly to a bicycle-parking
column
that prevents its theft. It is also
equipped with an electric locking
device activated by the user who
inserts a special electronic card to
obtain the bike and to return it.
These parking areas make up the distribution
stations
and the number of parking columns is
determined by demand, without any
necessary minimum number. Each station
has an information
sign
upon which you can find a map of the
area with the availability at the
various distribution stations, rules
of their use and useful contact
information.
Monitoring
and organizational systems
Every
movement of the bicycles is
transmitted to a server that updates
in real time their availability in the
area. Upon receiving an electronic
card, each cyclist is then registered
in the server, having inserted his/her
personal information and telephone
number. This card is distributed for
an indeterminate amount of time and
can be deactivated remotely at any
time at the director’s discretion.
The system’s interface supplies us
with the user’s personal information
at the moment of the hire, giving us a
general overview of who is exploiting
the system. As a result we can analyze
bike movements and study their
statistics in order to increase or
decrease the number of bicycles
according to demand.
Tele-diagnostic
system
the
project is equipped with a remotely
enhanced diagnostic system that allows
us to know the
conditions of the parking stations at
any moment.
Wherever there may be a damaged or
malfunctioning unit, a remote
mechanism allows us to reset the
device, be it a single parching space
or the entire parking station. The
practicality of the tele-diagnostic
system allows us to solve problems
from a distance. This guarantees a
completely efficient, indispensable
organization in providing quality
available alternative public
transportation.
Find
your bike
How
can you find out if there are bicycles
available? Easy! Just go to the
website www.example.com
and you can view in real
time
the available bikes in that moment.
Not only that, the members of BikeProject
who have an electric card can check
their account and their movements at
any given time by way of a login and a
password obtained at registration.
The
personal touch
The
bikes, the bike-parking, the parking
signs and the electric card are all personalized
by means of white Project lettering on
a blue background in order to
publicize an genuine response to
improve city travel and the urban
environment.
|
